2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Wassall
A surname derived from the location Wassall, a village in Derbyshire, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Wassall. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wassall surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wassall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Wassall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wassall, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wassall
The surname Wassall is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the Old English word "wascel," which means "a toast" or "a wassail," referring to the ancient custom of drinking to one's health or well-being. The name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone who was known for their love of wassailing or participating in these festive gatherings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Wassall can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a John Wassail is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use by the 14th century in the West Midlands region of England.
In the 16th century, the surname appears in various historical records, including the Parish Registers of Oxfordshire, where a William Wassall was recorded in 1592. Around the same time, a John Wassall was mentioned in the Musters of Sussex in 1588, indicating the name's presence in different parts of England.
The Wassall surname has also been associated with certain place names, such as Wassall Grove in Nottinghamshire and Wassall Hill in Staffordshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time, including Wassell, Warsall, and Worsall.
Notable individuals with the surname Wassall throughout history include:
1. William Wassall (c. 1540-1605), an English Catholic printer and publisher active in the late 16th century.
2. Richard Wassall (1671-1737), an English architect and surveyor who worked on several notable buildings in London and the surrounding areas.
3. John Wassall (1736-1811), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
4. Mary Wassall (1773-1849), an English poet and writer known for her religious works and hymns.
5. Edward Wassall (1824-1894), a British businessman and philanthropist who founded the Wassall Charitable Trust in Birmingham.
The Wassall surname, with its rich history and connections to ancient English customs and traditions, continues to be a part of the diverse tapestry of British surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wassall
Among Census respondents with the surname Wassall, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Wassall bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Wassall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 6
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wassall
Wassall appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-7 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,740 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-8 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,306 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 14,740 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 8,306 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Wassall surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #141,140 | #149,446 | -5.9% |
| Count | 118 | 110 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wassall bearers went from 118 to 110 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 8,306 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #149,446.
FAQ
Wassall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wassall?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Wassall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Wassall?
Wassall ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Wassall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Wassall.
Has Wassall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wassall went from 118 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Wassall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wassall, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Wassall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wassall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (5.5%), Two or More Races (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Wassall (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Wassall mean?
A surname derived from the location Wassall, a village in Derbyshire, England. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Wassall (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Wassall?
Want to know how many people are called Wassall? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.